MK3 Focus - hissing aircon?

[Shoxt3r]

Hi all,

I had my MK3 Focus regassed last summer (apparently the gas was very low - oops!) and all was well for a while. However, this year it doesn't seem as cool (mainly noticed it during the recent heatwave so maybe that's to be expected?), and I'm also noticing a big hiss on startup. The hissing then goes away and comes in again later on in a drive - maybe after about 10-15 minutes or so?

Is it normal to beer an annual regas or is something wrong?

Thanks in advance!

[StephenFord]

53 minutes ago, Shoxt3r said:

Is it normal to beer an annual regas or is something wrong?

 

Nope, not normal, something is wrong...

[Shoxt3r]

6 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Nope, not normal, something is wrong...

Haha I gather you understood what I meant... ***** autocorrect 😂.

Should have been:

"Is it normal to need an annual regas or is something wrong?"

Ok I'll get it checked out, thanks!

[StephenFord]

5 minutes ago, Shoxt3r said:

Haha I gather you understood what I meant... ***** autocorrect 😂.

Should have been:

"Is it normal to need an annual regas or is something wrong?"

Ok I'll get it checked out, thanks!

A/C is basically a sealed system, so if it ever needs re gassed, the A/C gas is leaking somewhere. There are numerous seals within the system which are lubricated by the very act of the refrigerant running through it. (You should use A/C regularly, not just on hot days!) Common failures include the 'condenser', (a kind of big radiator) that is very vulnerable as it's often located at the front of the engine to get max airflow on it. Compressors can also fail but less so. A simple regas may temporarily sort you out, but my last car had some A/C faults sorted and gassed, and was still ice cold 10 years later when I sold it.

[TomsFocus]

30 minutes ago, Shoxt3r said:

Haha I gather you understood what I meant... ***** autocorrect 😂.

Should have been:

"Is it normal to need an annual regas or is something wrong?"

Ok I'll get it checked out, thanks!

Tbf, there could have been a worse auto-correct within that sentence!  

[Shoxt3r]

31 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

A/C is basically a sealed system, so if it ever needs re gassed, the A/C gas is leaking somewhere. There are numerous seals within the system which are lubricated by the very act of the refrigerant running through it. (You should use A/C regularly, not just on hot days!) Common failures include the 'condenser', (a kind of big radiator) that is very vulnerable as it's often located at the front of the engine to get max airflow on it. Compressors can also fail but less so. A simple regas may temporarily sort you out, but my last car had some A/C faults sorted and gassed, and was still ice cold 10 years later when I sold it.

Oh right, I never realised that! So this whole thing about garages offering regassing - really it's a sign of a leak?

Hopefully it's not the condenser as that's what finished off my 307 in the end (was about £500 to fix and the car I later found out was only worth about £200 at trade-in and apparently they were being generous!). Thanks for the explanation - I'll pop over to a garage early next week and get it looked at.

[StephenFord]

23 minutes ago, Shoxt3r said:

Oh right, I never realised that! So this whole thing about garages offering regassing - really it's a sign of a leak?

Hopefully it's not the condenser as that's what finished off my 307 in the end (was about £500 to fix and the car I later found out was only worth about £200 at trade-in and apparently they were being generous!). Thanks for the explanation - I'll pop over to a garage early next week and get it looked at.

You're best course of action is to nip in to somewhere like KwikFit or ATS. (cost about £50/£60). They do a preliminary pressure test which will indicate a noticeable leak, and if none found, will do a regas. KwikFit also offer a money back guarantee in that if the temperature doesn't drop by a pre determined amount, you get you money back.

BTW, £500 is awfully expensive for that condenser repair!! (I got my old Merc C class a new condenser, fitted and re gassed for less than £300)

[MrRedman]

Had mine re gassed last week through Groupon £36 at ats 👍

[Shoxt3r]

19 hours ago, StephenFord said:

You're best course of action is to nip in to somewhere like KwikFit or ATS. (cost about £50/£60). They do a preliminary pressure test which will indicate a noticeable leak, and if none found, will do a regas. KwikFit also offer a money back guarantee in that if the temperature doesn't drop by a pre determined amount, you get you money back.

BTW, £500 is awfully expensive for that condenser repair!! (I got my old Merc C class a new condenser, fitted and re gassed for less than £300)

Good tip, thanks! After my last reply I got in touch with a local garage and they said they will do a pressure test and regas for £70 and then if the temperature doesn't drop then there's no charge and they will take out the gas they added. If it turns out there is a leak then they will do the necessary work and regas for free - seems pretty reasonable to me?

They said it could be something entirely different but seems like it's an aircon leak - they're going to have a look over it tomorrow afternoon and take it from there.

9 minutes ago, MrRedman said:

Had mine re gassed last week through Groupon £36 at ats 👍

Wow that's quite a deal! Unfortunately my nearest ATS is about 30 miles away.

[StephenFord]

15 minutes ago, Shoxt3r said:

Good tip, thanks! After my last reply I got in touch with a local garage and they said they will do a pressure test and regas for £70 and then if the temperature doesn't drop then there's no charge and they will take out the gas they added. If it turns out there is a leak then they will do the necessary work and regas for free - seems pretty reasonable to me?

 

Don't forget to report back to us, we all like a happy ending...

[Shoxt3r]

On 7/25/2021 at 9:47 AM, StephenFord said:

Don't forget to report back to us, we all like a happy ending...

Ok, so it turns out that the gas was very low again which caused the hissing sound. The garage did a full pressure test prior to regassing the system and they didn't find any leaks. They gave me proof of the initial reading followed by what they topped it up by - "A/C Recovery - 126 ref. 0 oil" and then "A/C Charging 530 ref."

When I look back at previous invoices from another garage, they state that as part of the annual service (the car had a partial service last June followed by an Air Con service in September) that the aircon was checked. In September when I reported to them that the aircon wasn't working sufficiently, they found that again the gas was low and so did a vacuum leak test which passed and then refilled the system with 420g of refrigerant so the total was once again 540g.

The car doesn't get a lot of mileage (approximately 50-60 miles a week on average) so I'm a bit unclear as to why it's managed to burn through so much refrigerant in less than a year. We have used the aircon frequently when in the car but it's nearly always turned down to "1" or off on the dial.

Do I maybe need to resort to turning the aircon off completely via the switch and using it sparingly to keep the system on tickover to keep the compressor, and then only using it extensively on warm days?

It seems really odd that this is an issue as I had never had the system regassed previous to September 2020 after purchasing the car in August 2017.
On the plus side, the car is now very cool even when just having the dial turned to 1 or 2.

Any thoughts?

[MrRedman]

Your supposed to have it on all the time to stop the seals drying out,saying that mine only lasted one summer and I’ve had to have it topped up so I’m at a loss too .

[StephenFord]

13 minutes ago, Shoxt3r said:

Do I maybe need to resort to turning the aircon off completely via the switch and using it sparingly to keep the system on tickover to keep the compressor, and then only using it extensively on warm days?

Goodness no! Just keep it in use. By using it, the refrigerant circulates and will actually act to lubricate the system. By turning it off, that's where issues often start as the seals dry up allowing the gas to escape. Fingers crossed that it'll stay cold now for a while (your A/C, not the weather! LOL)

[Shoxt3r]

Ok good to know thank you both.

Is there a way to tell that the A/C is low without it resorting to telling me via the hissing pipes as surely this doesn't do the system any good either? haha.

I guess just taking it in for a check every summer?

[StephenFord]

16 minutes ago, Shoxt3r said:

 

Is there a way to tell that the A/C is low without it resorting to telling me via the hissing pipes ...

 

Not really a 'home' job unless you have the proper equipment. If you notice the temperature isn't properly refrigerated any longer, that's your 1st sign and that you can measure 'at home' (Should be between 4c - 6c)

[eddie eastwood]

A/C should be run for at least 10 minutes ever week all year round because of the seals, don`t forget in the winter you can use to demist the windscreen.

[StephenFord]

3 minutes ago, eddie eastwood said:

A/C should be run for at least 10 minutes ever week all year round because of the seals, don`t forget in the winter you can use to demist the windscreen.

Like many people, my A/C has not been switched off since owning the car! Unless you are an MPG freak, I don't see the point not having it on. People often misunderstand the function of A/C, it's not just to provide a cold temperature. As stated, it dehumidifies the air taking away the moisture, hence in a car environment, it prevents the glass misting up. So, no point turning off unless you're a paid up member of GreenPeace!. LOL

[Shoxt3r]

Thank you all for the replies - very helpful! 😀